Women’s Swim and Dive: Buckeyes place ninth in NCAA championship

Angela Diaz
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 02:29:32 +0000
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Josephine Panitz, fourth-year Ohio State swimmer, focuses before her NCAA championship meet in Athens, Georgia on Saturday. Credit: Angela Diaz | For The Lantern

Swimming is an endurance challenge — a quality Ohio State clearly demonstrated it had over the weekend.

The No. 9 Ohio State women’s swim and dive team (6-0) brought home its fourth-consecutive top-10 finish at the NCAA championships over the weekend in Athens, Georgia, at the Jack Bauerle Pool at Gabrielsen Natatorium. The team made program history as it finished ninth and now has the most consecutive top-10 NCAA finishes with four in all who compete in the championship.

The Buckeyes completed Saturday night with a score of 162 points, which fell second out of the Big Ten schools and behind No. 7 Indiana, who ended with 206.

“I’m inspired by our team’s efforts last week,” assistant coach Katie Trace said. “Everyone had to fight to get points up on the scoreboard. Our athletes have dreamed of racing at the highest level of college swimming since they were young. To be able to compete at a meet of this magnitude and to achieve our goal of being a top-10 team is everything I could’ve asked for as a coach.”

Senior Maya Geringer competed in the 1650-meter freestyle, finishing with a time of 15:59.60 and Honorable Mention All-American honors.

Both senior Katherine Zenick and graduate Amy Fulmer competed in the 100-meter freestyle. Zenick swam in the B-final with a time of 47.81, finishing fifth, and with Honorable Mention All-American honors. Fulmer finished fifth in the A-final with a time of 47.18 and First Team All-American honors.

Graduate Janie Boyle competed in the diving A-final event and earned First Team All-American honors, as she finished seventh with a score of 267.20.

Zenick, juniors Teresa Ivan and Nyah Funderbunke and Fulmer closed out Saturday night in the 400-free relay, placing ninth overall with a time of 3:11.06 and Honorable Mention All-American honors.